Iranian women win their first futsal championship

Iran’s women’s national futsal team has lifted the trophy at the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Futsal Championship in Malaysia following a victory over the Japanese side.

Iranian female futsal players jubilate after being crowned at the end of the 2015 AFC Women’s Futsal Championship in Nilai, Malaysia, September 26, 2015.

On Saturday, the Iranian sportswomen played good defense against the offensive Japanese team in a match played at the Nilai Indoor Stadium in the western Malaysian city of Nilai, preventing the Samurais to score.

It was in the eighth minute that Fereshteh Karimi seized a marvelous chance and scored the winner for the Iranians.

“My players played very well and our tactics worked, so, I’d like to congratulate my players for the determination they put in the game,” Iran’s coach Forouzan Soleimani said after the match.

“But then it was an extremely difficult match as the Japanese were the favorites and had very good discipline, tactics and techniques. They really made the game tough for us, but we managed to overcome them,” she added.

“We had done a lot in preparation for this game and our patience and perseverance had paid off with this championship. I believe the future of Iranian women’s futsal is even brighter now and we are looking forward to participating in more international championships in the future.” Soleimani said.

Japan coach Arihara Masaaki commented, “The game against Iran was really challenging but my team played well. After the Iranian goal, our players were confused for a while but they bounced back in spirit and then stuck to the game plan.”

Earlier in the day, Thai female futsal players defeated their Malaysian counterpart 4-1 in the third place play-off.

Iran women’s national futsal team booked a place at the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship final after beating Thailand 1-0 on Friday.

The 2015 AFC Women’s Futsal Championship started in Nilai, Malaysia, on September 21 and wrapped up on September 26.